The Chinese Stars â€“ Listen To Your Left Brain

This Rhode Island band was formed from the ashes of Arab on Radar and Six Finger Satellite. I was not familiar with the band before receiving â€œListen To Your Left Brainâ€, even though this is their second full length and fifth release in total since the bandâ€™s founding in 2003. The 9 tracks on â€œListen To Your Left Brainâ€ provide individuals with an interesting look to how individuals in 2007 would create the music that was all the rage in 1985. This brand of rock mixed with an ample amount of electronic music and dance rhythms plays well with Big Country, Duran Duran, and some tracks (â€œCold Cold Coldâ€) even work well with Suicide and Bauhaus. The only thing that distinguishes the tracks on â€œListen To Your Left Brainâ€ from those that were created around a generation ago is the angularity present on a number of the guitar tracks on the disc.

This angularity was first brought back into prominence by acts like Franz Ferdinand in their retro-rock stylings, but The Chinese Stars so successfully emulate an earlier style that it becomes hard at points to realize that these were tracks made for this year. â€œAll My Friends Are Getting Highâ€ is a track that would even work with the Devo crowds. It is during this track that The Chinese Starsâ€™ own style is shown, and this style is only furthered with the inclusion of â€œLeft Brainâ€. The stop-start, herky-jerky style of the band during these track allow the act to create a style that has a solid tie to the present while still having a tremendous love for the past. The Chinese Stars, if they played their cards right, should go on tour with Devo or The Network, get a reformed Atom and His Package, and pack clubs throughout the United States with their interesting takes on electro-pop and eighties rock music.

Author: James McQuiston

Ph.D. in Political Science, Kent State University.I have been the editor at NeuFutur / neufutur.com since I was 15. Looking for new staff members all the time; email me if you are interested. Thanks! View all posts by James McQuiston